


Forest of Our Lives

by romaneedsatoma



Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Asexual Character, Growing Up Together, Homophobia, Kid Fic, Multi, Trans Character, Transphobia, itll be really fun i promise, not parvill, parv is trans, strife is ace, updated every saturday til i run out of chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-05-26 07:50:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6229939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romaneedsatoma/pseuds/romaneedsatoma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Strife gave Parv an apprehensive look. "I think you're my best friend."<br/>Parv blinked, then grinned widely, giving Strife a tight hug. "Thanks Strifey! You're my best friend too. Best friend forever."<br/>Strife laughed, hugging her back. "Glad you think so, Parvis."</p>
<p>(rewrite of my old story. thank you to anyone who suffered through my terrible writing back then, haha.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Second Grade

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for reading! As mentioned in the description, this is a rewrite of my old story, which is now deleted. There have been some big changes for this story! Most notable- Parv is a transboy! One of my favorite headcanons. There are also different plot points and details, so if you read the old story, keep an eye out! And, again, thank you for reading. This is my favorite story I've written, and I'm really happy about bringing it back.

Alicia pulled herself up the tree, swinging precariously from one branch when she slipped. She went into a sloth pose, catching her breath before regaining her balance and getting up to sit on the branch.

She was exploring the forest behind her house, as she was oft to do. Technically, it belonged to the big mansion a road over. She did have to climb the fence to reach this new area, which she was 'allowed' to visit now that she was a second grader. (Actually, her mom said she didn't have to be watched while she was outside. But with Alicia, it was the same thing.) But as far as she knew, the mansion owners were just cranky old people, like everyone else on that street. There certainly was never anyone to stop her, and she had already gone out three times. She was fine.

Alicia looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, which meant she'd have to go back home and report on her first day of school soon. She sighed and swung her legs, leaning against the trunk of the tree. Soon, but not yet. For now, she still had time to ruffle up her short black hair, which was sure to bug her mom. Alicia was pretty sure dirt made her brown eyes look nicer, but it was reaffirmed time and time again to her that it really was not a good fashion choice.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alicia leaned forward, looking down where the voice came from. At the base of the tree, a blond boy her age was glaring up with crossed arms. He had a red shirt with a black hoodie thrown over, with a notable pair of sunglasses added randomly in his hair. His bright green eyes made her giggle. She had never seen someone this mad at her before! And he was so young too!

"I'm just climbing! The view's great from up here!" She called back cheekily. "What are you up to?"

"Patrolling my territory. And you're on it. Get down from my tree." The boy's glare was even more intense now, so she scrambled down, slipping on a lower branch. She waved her arms as she tumbled, hitting the ground hard. He startled back, seeming to panic for a moment, but Alicia bounced up easily. They were around the same height, and she threw back her shoulders to give her an extra inch.

"Who are you? I've never seen you at school. And I know everyone at school, and in this area, so I'm saying you're the one outta line here." Alicia challenged his judgement quickly, and the boy looked taken aback before huffing.

"I got to the private school, not the public one. And usually I'm inside, but my father said I needed some air." He rolled his eyes at her and she took this as a cue to huff herself. The action was foreign to her, but the sheer sarcastic feel of it pleased her.

"Well, alright, that makes sense." She stuck her hand out to shake. "My name's... Parvis." She decided on her last name quickly. "Well, it's not, but I don't want any creepy boys who play in woods knowing my name."

He looked at her in disbelief for a moment, then responded. "Well, I don't want any creepy girls knowing my name. So I guess I'll be Strife." He shook her hand, then took a step back, frowning at the dirt now on his hand.

Parvis nodded, then looked back up the tree. "Wanna climb with me?"

"Uh..." Strife hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "Sure, let's do it. Lead the way."

She grinned and turned back to the tree, retracing her way up. They stopped where she was before, hardly a quarter up the tree.

"Don't try to touch the ground, you won't reach." She said, kicking her feet. She had let Strife sit by the trunk, figuring he would be less steady than her, even with her tendency to be a klutz. "I tried earlier when I slipped and it's reeeally far."

Strife looked horrified and she giggled. "That sounds terrifying- but, I guess I should expect it from a public school kid."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Parvis pouted, and he shrugged.

"My mom's always talking about how Sips is the bad kid on the street, and he's the only one who goes to Down Street School."

"I know Sips!" Parvis perked up, and frowned. "He's a meanie. He's always goofing off with Sjin, and he swears when the teacher isn't listening, and one time he said I had to kiss him because I missed during tag."

"What did you do?"

"I punched him." She grinned proudly. "I got sent to the nurse because I broke my thumb, and then got in trouble at the office, but I know to keep my thumb on the outside of my punch now."

Strife nodded solemnly. "I have this friend- well, he's not really my friend, he's my neighbor- and his name is Ridge. He gets in trouble all the time for swearing. And my friend Xephos does it because his public school friend teaches him them! But I'll never ever swear, because my parents get mad when my cousin Dave does it."

"Do you know them then?" Parvis looked at him curiously.

"Only one."

"Ooh, teach me!" She bounced slightly, making the branch shake, and he clung to the tree again.

"Okay, if you stop jumping! I'm gonna fall!" She stopped and he sighed, waiting for the tremors to lessen before speaking quietly. "The only one I know is, uh, damn."

Parvis giggled and Strife smiled, looking genuinely happy for the first time they were out there. She repeated it and he laughed too, glancing at the setting sun.

"Oh, I have to go now." Strife sighed and started making his way down. Parvis followed, occasionally instructing him on where to put his feet, until they were both at the foot of the tree. "Uh, do you want to hang out here some other time?"

Parvis gave him a quick hug, still giggling quietly. "Sure! I'll be out here tomorrow after school! See you then!"

"See you then." He gave her a smile and Parvis skipped off, humming under her breath.

\---

"Strifey!" Parvis ran to tackle him, hardly noticing the sketchbook the blond was writing in. Half a school year had passed, and Strife had learned to avoid Parvis by then. He stepped a few feet forward and she tripped, skidding across the ground a bit before gritting her teeth and standing up.

"Are you okay?" He looked at her in concern and she snorted.

"Fine and dandy." She grinned. "Did you catch what I called you? Came up with it last night."

"What, Strifey?" He rolled his eyes. "It's alright, but doesn't take a genius to think of it. I guess you need a nickname too now, huh?"

"What about... Parvis-y."

"No." He shook his head. "Too long. How about Parv? Just shorten your name, easy."

"Alright! Works for me!" Parv clapped with a grin. "Strifey's kinda hard to say a lot though. Strife's easier."

"You came up with it, do what you like." Strife looked back down at his sketchbook, occasionally glancing up at the tree in front of him as he drew something.

"Ooh, what's that?" Parv leaned over his shoulder, looking at the drawing. It was an awkward imitation of the area, with the beginning of a house shape in the branches. "Are we making a tree house?!"

"Uh, my dad has a week off in the summer, so we're making a tree house together." He looked at her apologetically. "I don't think you're invited."

"That's fine! I'm not invited to my dad and brother's boys nights either." She shrugged, wrapping her arms around him and leaning on his shoulders to get a better look.

"You have a brother?" He asked curiously, used to her clinging onto him by now.

"Yep! His name is Tom, but he goes by Sparkles. Or Sparks, or Sparky!" Parv giggled. "He says there's uh, a asta- asser- assi- star after Sparkles."

"An asterisk?"

"Yeah! Isn't that silly?" She was beaming, obviously pleased to talk about her older brother. "He's gonna be in a band with his friends when he's older, and I get to be his groupie!"

"Cool." Strife gave her a smile, then stepped away from her to show off the final sketch. "Is this good?"

"Wow! You should do blueprints Strifey!" The brunette clapped and he laughed, shrugging but obviously pleased with the response.

"Do you have any other siblings?"

"No, but Sparkles has his two friends over all the time, so they're like brothers too." She rocked on her heels. "Their names are Kogie and Leo, and Leo is a year younger than the others, so we play when Kogie and Sparkles want to talk about girls." She made a gagging motion. "They're in fifth grade, so I don't know why they're so sure they can 'get the ladies.'"

Strife laughed. "Girls are yucky anyways. Besides you, you're cool."

She grinned. "Who are your friends, then?"

He paused, rubbing his jaw. Parv knew he did this a lot when he was thinking, so she bit her tongue and let him consider in silence.

"Well, I guess... My cousin Dave lives with us while his parents are away. But he's a lot older than us, he's in sixth grade. Uh, Sips is kind of my friend because our dads work together, and Ridge is my neighbor. Oh! Xephos and I hang out sometimes, but usually he can't play because his mom dresses him up all fancy." Strife gave Parv an apprehensive look. "I think you're my best friend."

Parv blinked, then grinned widely, giving Strife a tight hug. "Thanks Strifey! You're my best friend too. Best friend forever."

Strife laughed, hugging her back. "Glad you think so, Parvis."

\---

Parv was swinging her legs, up in a tree as she usually was. Strife was climbing up, and Parv nudged over to give him some room.

"School's out." She said quietly, already aware of Strife's busy summer plan.

"We're still here for three more days." He replied, looking guilty. Parv didn't want to make him feel bad, but held her tongue. He was the one abandoning her. "I'll see if I can get you something nice from Hawaii, okay?"

"Hawaii's really far away." She said instead of replying, not looking at him.

"I know Parvis." Strife sighed, looking away as well. The silence strung out between them, until Strife suddenly broke it. "Will."

"Huh?" She looked up, frowning, and Strife flushed.

"Uh, Will. My name is Will Strife. I just uh, used my last name." He laughed awkwardly, and Parvis giggled.

"Alicia. Alicia Parvis, in fact." She held out a hand to shake, as if they were just meeting again, and Strife grinned, shaking it firmly.

"Pleasure." They both broke into giggles, and she leaned against his shoulder. "You can keep calling me Strife if you want. I just figured that since we're best friends, you're not really a creepy girl in the woods anymore."

"And you can keep on calling me Parvis." She replied with a grin. "You're a little less creepy."

"Hey!" He kicked at her feet and she fought back, shaking the branch and knocking two stray leaves into the wind.


	2. Third Grade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The word sl*t is used in this chapter, as a warning. When Strife and Parv start talking about dating, skip to the next set of '---' and send me a message, I can summarize that part for you. Thank you for reading!

"Strifey!" The blond jumped when Parvis suddenly landed next to him, hugging him.

"Did you just jump out of a tree?!" Strife turned to look her over, dusting off her shirt. "Don't do that, you'll kill yourself like that!"

"I haven't done anything but day camp all summer, so I've been climbing! I found a way up a few more branches, I can't wait to show you!" Parv beamed, letting him fret over her for a moment. "I haven't hurt myself, don't worry. How was your summer? It sounded a lot more fun than mine! Hawaii and then a cruise! I thought you were never going to come back!"

Strife smiled at her, happy to hear her rambling again. "It was more fun than I thought, but I missed you. Especially since Ridge was on the same cruise, so he bugged me the whole time." He frowned, scrunching up his nose. "Next time I'm going to see if we can bring you, act as Ridge-repellent."

Parvis giggled and hugged him again. Three days of school had already passed by, but Strife hadn't been able to make it out before then. Dave had come to stay for one of his longer trips, and Strife was tasked with helping him feel settled in.

"How was school today?" Strife asked and Parvis groaned.

"Boooring. I have homework to do, but Sparky is having his friend Becki over." Parv pulled a digusted face. "I think they kiss in his room, it's icky."

Strife chuckled. "Well, he's in middle school now, right? He's old enough to date by now."

"Yeah, but it's my brother! It's like seeing my parents kiss- disgusting!" They both laughed and continued chattering until Parvis brought up the topic of romance again.

"So, uh..." She trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck.

"What?" It was never good when Parvis trailed off.

"Do you have a crush on anyone?" 

Strife blushed, startled by the sudden question. "Well, uh... No. Most of my friends do, but I don't. I wouldn't be able to do anything anyways, my parents don't want me dating anyone until I'm in high school. I think. I didn't really care, so I can't remember." He shrugged. "Uh, do you?"

She brushed back her hair, and Strife noticed she had grown it out a little past her shoulders. "There's a guy at my school, but you wouldn't know him." She blushed as well, catching him off guard. Parv never got flustered. "He's blond like you, but he really likes flowers, and he's really nice- but uh, anyways. Can I go in your treehouse? I did already, but mom says I have to ask before doing stuff like that."

"Of course you've already gone in." Strife rolled his eyes, eager to get off the topic of crushes. "But it's okay, go ahead."

Parv grinned and climbed up the ladder first, easily pushing the hatch open and clambering in. Strife followed after her, closing it solidly behind them.

The tree house was mostly bare, with two cheap beanbags along one wall and a series of pictures on the opposite one. Strife noticed Parv touching one, and looked at it as well.

"That's me, Sips, and Xephos at Take Your Kid to Work Day. My father, Sips's dad, and Xephos's mom all work together at this science lab." The three boys were standing in front of a fancy building, arms slung around each other's shoulders.

"Cool. The rest are of your family, right?" She looked at the rest, gaze hovering over a few pictures that Strife drew. "You look a lot like your dad."

"Yeah, I've been told." Strife shrugged and sat down in one of the beanbags. Parv dropped into the other, leaning back against the wall. The two swapped mindless stories of their summer for a while, when suddenly the hatch opened. Parv startled and Strife groaned when a blond teen poked his head in.

"Oh, hello there." He waved at Parv, and she returned the gesture.

"Hiya! I'm Allie!"

"Allie?" Strife asked, confused, and Parv shot him a look.

"You're not the only one to give me a nickname Strifey."

The teen snorted and pulled himself in, sitting in the corner with his phone. He had the same shade of blond as Strife, but his eyes were a light blue. He was wearing a sweatshirt a similar shade, with a small pair of sewn on ram's horns on the hood. "Well, I'm Dave, or Kirin, since apparently we're using Bond names here."

"We're not spies, Dave, Alicia just didn't trust me when we first met." Strife rolled his eyes. "Even though she was the one in my woods."

"You threatened me!"

"Did not!"

Dave interrupted the argument by laughing, pulling ear buds out of his pockets. "Well, you two do... whatever it was you were doing. I just wanted to text Su away from Uncle." He put in the headphones and sat against the wall, obviously turning on music. Strife sighed in relief, and gave Parv a shrug, mouthing 'teenagers.'

Parvis giggled, and scooted her beanbag closer to him.

"Kirin seems fun." She said quietly, watching the teen for any reaction. He was quiet, tapping at his phone.

"I wouldn't say that. He's my least favorite cousin." Strife sighed. "And my only cousin."

"Kirin~" Parvis said slightly louder, still watching him. Strife frowned, but the teen didn't react. "Great! He can't hear us!"

"What are you up to?" He started to ask, but she jammed her finger against his mouth.

"Shhhh." She shushed him loudly, then badly whispered, "Have you had the sex talk yet?"

Strife could swear he heard a choking noise from Dave, but a look over showed him to be as calm as ever.

"You- you can't just ask that, Alicia!"

"Awh, don't use my full name, that means you're mad."

"Sorry, sorry." Strife sighed, rubbing his red cheek. "Yes, I have. Why?"

"Mom told me it yesterday. It was weird, and Sparkles came in to help and then Mom got mad at him and kicked him out because she was talking about lady stuff." She shook her head. "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you that part, sorry."

"I don't want to hear about your... 'lady stuff' anyways." He crossed his arms. "We have an assembly this year for it, but they're separating the boys and the girls. Guess it's against the rules to know about each other before the sex part."

"Yeah, I guess." Parv chewed on the side of her thumbnail. "You think it hurts?"

"Dad said it shouldn't hurt me, but I'm a boy, so I don't know." Strife pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on them. "Sex sounds scary anyways, I don't want to do it."

"I thought it sounded fun." She tilted her head, opening her mouth to continue, but then Dave suddenly took out his ear buds.

"Hey, you guys want to listen to music?" He said loudly, and they both nodded. Dave fiddled with his phone for a moment, and the music played, bringing an end to the awkward conversation. Strife looked out the window, watching the leaves flutter in the breeze.

\---

"Hey Strife." Strife startled when Parvis suddenly grabbed him, turning to face her. She usually wasn't quiet enough to catch him while they were both on the ground.

"Hey Parv." He took in the faraway look in her eyes, and grabbed her hand. "Want to talk in the tree house?"

She nodded, and let him lead her to the ladder. Once they had both settled down into their beanbags, Parvis started talking.

"Do you know what homosexuality is Strifey?" She tilted her head, and he shrugged.

"My father's mentioned a few times. He doesn't like it very much, I don't think. But I don't really know what it is."

"Right, right."

"Why?"

She bit her lip, then launched into her story. "Sooo... I was doing my homework, and I finally finished, so I was packing up my bag when I heard someone playing guitar! And Sparky plays, but he's nowhere near that good, so I went to his room to see what was happening. And Kogie was there playing for him."

She paused for effect, and Strife nodded, willing her to continue.

"And Kogie finished, and I wanted to clap because it was really pretty. But I was supposed to be downstairs, and I figured Sparkles would clap anyways. But he didn't! Instead, he kissed Kogie! On the lips!" She smacked the top of her right hand into her left palm, making a loud clap. "And I was confused, because I thought only girls kissed boys on the lips like that! So I, uh, screamed a little. And so did Sparkles."

"That's weird, but how does homosexuality come into this?"

"Oh! Uh, Kogie tried to stop me and was saying something about it but I ran away. I didn't want them to get mad at me for listening to them." She shrugged. "But then I ran into you, so it's alright!"

"You probably should have stayed. It must have been important if they stoped kissing, I know Dave would much rather kiss his girlfriend than talk to me." Strife crossed his arms, and Parv pouted.

"Oh well, they can deal. Anyways, Kogie can talk to me if he promises to teach me guitar!" She clasped her hands together, and Strife got the sense that this was supposed to be her big reveal, not the kiss. "He played it so good, he has to teach me! So I can play pretty music too!"

"So well, not so good." Strife corrected, then sighed. "I'll ask my dad about homosexuality if you want, so you won't have to hear it from your brother."

"Alright! Works for me!"

\---

The next day, Strife came into the tree house loudly. Parv startled, looking over from the drawing she was putting up of the two of them.

"My father is dumb." Strife grumbled, sitting in the nearest beanbag. Parv put down her stapler and crawled over to him, trying to cram onto the same beanbag comfortingly.

"What's up Strifey? Usually you love your dad."

"Well, he's being an idiot today." He leaned against her, sighing. "He said homosexuality is wrong because it doesn't produce a child. People don't get together to have kids, they get together because they love each other!" He pouted. "I'll never have kids, just to spite him."

"But I thought you wanted kids!"

"I do, but I don't if my father will think that's the only reason I get married with someone."

Parvis giggled, then thought back to Strife's earlier words. "But what if he's right, and homosexuality is wrong?" She frowned. "What if Sparkles and Kogie are breaking the law? I don't want them to get arrested!"

"It's not, he's just being an ass."

"Strifey!"

"Well, it's true! And Dave was really mad about it. He asked me to go outside and he and dad were yelling at each other as I left." Strife looked at Parv, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I really like Dave. Sometimes."

\---

"Hey Parv, can I ask you for some advice?" Strife asked a few weeks later. They were sitting in a tree together, resting after the victory of making it up a few new branches.

"Sure! You never ask me anything, so go ahead!" Parv was in a more precarious position than Strife's cuddle against the trunk, one leg loose and the other curled around the branch. The most it'd do would land her face first, from Strife's view of it, but she had at least grabbed another branch after his begging.

"Well, it's girl advice..." He blushed. "A girl in my class told me that her friend liked me today. What should I do? Should I ask her out?"

Parv considered it. "Well, do you like her?"

"I don't know. I've never really liked anyone, I don't think. I'm hoping I'll like this girl, after awhile."

"Oh." She tilted her head. "Is anyone else in your grade dating?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Then don't." Parv shook her head. "She'll be called a slut, and you don't want to be dating a slut."

"What's a slut?"

"A bad word, so shush." She tapped his lips, and he rolled his eyes. "I think it's a girl who dates a lot. But it's a bad thing because... I don't really know why, but it's bad. Sparkles called me it once because I was talking about a boy I like, and Leo slapped him. Then Dad got really mad, and me and Leo had to go play outside." Parv shrugged, and Strife whined.

"Okay, I won't date her. Now can you please come closer to the trunk? You're giving me gray hairs."

\---

"I got a phone!" Strife was more excited than usual, wearing a wide grin while he and Parvis walked through the woods. It was spring, and most of the snow had melted away, letting the trees bud with leaves again. "It's only a starter phone, but my dad says if I've been responsible with it until middle school, he'll buy me an iPhone!"

"Can I see?" She asked, holding out her hand. "Sparkles had a starter phone for awhile, but he has a Droid now."

Strife handed it over, and Parv began fiddling with it, taking a picture of her making a goofy face for the background. Strife rolled his eyes but laughed, keeping it when she handed it back.

"That's a good phone, slide down keyboard. High tech, you might say." She put on a pompous voice. "I do say, Sir William, is that a sliding phone you're carrying? How exquisite!"

"Awh, shut up." Strife laughed, giving her a shove and putting his phone away. "You should ask your parents if you can get a starter phone. Then, we can still talk while we're both at home! It'll be great!"

"Maybe, but I'm not rich like you Strife. I probably won't get a phone until fifth grade, and that's in two years." Parv shrugged. "It must be nice, having lots of money."

Strife blinked, then frowned slightly. "I- I guess, but I've never really thought about it. It's not like I'm spoiled or anything, am I?"

Parv hesitated, but looking at Strife's face, shook her head. "No, you're not spoiled."

"Oh, that's good." The blond sighed in relief. "Dave's always saying that I am, even though Xeph and Sips get waaay more stuff than I ever do."

"Well, Kirin can shove it." Parv said confidently, then plucked a leaf from a passing tree. "Look, some green. Finally."

"Another year gone by." Strife agreed, smiling.


	3. Fourth Grade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, third chapter! I don't think there are any particular warnings for this chapter, message me if you think there is. Also, I've noticed that my writing style changes a lot, so sorry for that.

"I am so dumb." Parv groaned, frowning at her homework. "Thanks for helping me with it, at least you understand."

The two friends were sitting in their tree house, school supplies scattered around them as Strife helped Parv through her homework. The blond sighed at her putting herself down again.

"You're not dumb, it's just not... clicking. I'm going to explain it differently at some point and it'll make sense, I promise." He countered after a moment, reading over her problem. "You added wrong... here."

"See? Dumb mistake!" Parv threw her head back, whacking it against the wall and Strife grabbed the back of her neck to stop her.

"Don't hurt yourself, just do the work!" He urged, erasing the work for her. "Maybe I should get a mini whiteboard or something, like my mom has."

"What, for her tutoring?" Parv scratched her hand harshly, leaving red marks that she tried to rub out quickly.

"Yeah, that's what she used to teach me." Strife handed Parv's paper back and she huffed.

"Well, you're certainly smarter than me."

"That wasn't my point and you know it." He snapped back, then shook his head. "Alright, 17 plus 23."

"Uh, 37."

"Write it out!"

Parv rolled her eyes and followed his instructions. "39."

"Close enough, it was 40." Strife wrote the problem out correctly next to Parvis's work and she whined, leaning back against the wall.

"Can we do Social Studies instead?" She asked, pouting slightly. "I just have to read the chapter and answer some questions, nothing hard. You could even leave if you wanted, don't be held back on my idiocy."

"I'm not leaving you Parv. You asked me to help you, what kind of friend would I be to leave you?" He crossed his arms and leaned back as well, watching as she scooted forward and swapped the math for history.

Strife had noticed that recently, Parv had been... different. Usually she shrugged off her mistakes like some overly confident tv star, but she had gotten into a habit of getting hanged up on the smallest of slipups. He blamed the fact that report cards had gone home recently- she was upset when she was explaining how her parents has scolded her over getting a B-.

At first he was confused, but after a day he came to the conclusion that his own would be upset as well. Fourth grade wasn't quite renowned for being difficult, and Parv had always bragged about her straight A grades until Strife challenged them with his own. He decided that she needed to apply herself more, as his mom often told kids, and set out to help her- however, it was obvious that she was struggling with the content. So his small project turned into more of a tutoring program, helping her get her grades back up.

"Really though, leave if you want." She interrupted his thoughts, quickly writing something down on a piece of scrap paper.

"What's that?" He asked, leaning forward to look, and Parv jerked back.

"It's a poem, nothing good, I'll give it to Sparks later." She held the paper to her chest, then bit her lip, handing it to him. He read it over and gave her a smile.

"This is really good!" He placed it next to her math work and she beamed, going back to her Social Studies work.

Strife committed the grin to memory, looking out the window to the ruffling leaves.

\---

"Do you think sex hurts?" Strife asked quietly, blushing lightly as he looked away.

"Isn't that what I usually ask?" Parv giggled, then answered, "Uh, Sparkles says you're supposed to use lube, so it doesn't."

"It just seems weird to me, I dunno." Strife shrugged. "I don't think if I'll ever do it."

"You have to eventually Strifey." Parv laughed, then stopped herself when she saw his pained face. "Uh... since we're asking weird questions, my turn!"

He looked over, raising an eyebrow. "Yes?"

She tapped her chin. "Uh... Have you ever wondered what it'd be like if you were a girl? 'Cuz I wonder a lot what'd it'd be like if I was a boy."

"Not really..." He tilted his head. "Well, how do you think it'd be different, if you were a boy?"

"Uh, I dunno..." She pulled her legs to her chest, resting her arms on them as she thought. "I feel like it'd make more sense, you know? Most of my friends are guys, including you, and I don't want to have to put on makeup or skirts or anything like that when I'm older."

"You're just a tomboy. You'll get used to it eventually." He rolled his eyes slightly and she huffed.

"I guess. Just like how you'll get used to sex?"

Strife frowned and the two fell silent, avoiding each other's eyes.

\---

"We should meet each other's families." Parv propsed suddenly one day, slouching back in her beanbag. She straightened up when Strife nodded, grinning at him. "'Cuz I talk about you a lot, especially to Sparkles, and he says he wants to see the rich kid I'm apparently 'corrupting.'"

Strife snorted. "My family is curious about you, though they took Dave's description of you to heart." He returned the grin. "My father says you've 'ruined my speech patterns.'"

"Personally, I think saying yeah is a great improvement on saying yes all the time. Sooo stuffy." She giggled.

"So... guess we'll have to plan those." Strife rubbed his temple and she bounced eagerly.

"Yeah! Oh man, my parents will love you, you're so respectful and neat and not me. And Sparkles will think you're funny because you wear those dumb sunglasses all the time." She poked said glasses and he gasped in mock offense, whacking her hand away.

"Well, as long as you don't act as jittery as you usually do, I'm sure my parents will like you as well." He gave her a grin, but internally doubted it. Parv was anything but his parents' dream child, with her torn shorts and flyaway hair and hatred of being called her full name. Allie wasn't the worst name to use, but he usually used Alicia around his parents to keep the pointedly raised eyebrows at bay.

"Sweet! Play date!" She clapped and Strife laughed.

"Play date? That sounds so childish, just say we're hanging out."

"But we do that all the time! This is special!" She giggled and leaned over to bump shoulders with him. "Loosen up a bit grumpy!"

Strife pouted at her, badly hiding his smile.

\---

"Sparky, it's my turn on the computer!" Parv whined, stomping her foot. Sparkles rolled his eyes, making a face at Kogie and Leo. The two laughed and she sighed.

"Allie, your friend is coming over soon anyways, you're not even going to use it." He pointed out, spinning in the chair.

"But-"

"Kogie won't teach you guitar anymore if you don't stop whining at me!" He snapped and Kogie snorted, starting to say something before being cut off by the doorbell.

"Coming Strifey!" She called, quickly flipping off Sparkles before her mom walked in and taking off for the front door. She pulled it open, blinking at Strife's appearance.

He was dressier than usual, wearing a red button up with an unfamiliar black jacket thrown over it, and looking surprisingly uncomfortable with the fanciness. Behind him, a dirty blond man stood, and Parv guessed that it was Mr. Strife.

"Alicia, let the men in," her mother softly reminded in the background and she nodded, stepping aside. The blonds walked in and Parv's mom smiled, engaging the man in conversation. "How about you two go and play while we talk?"

Parv nodded and grabbed Strife's hand, ready to pull him away. Strife frowned and tugged his hand out of her grip, ignoring her hurt look in favor of his dad's amused looking one.

"I know you're ready to go and talk to Alicia, but hold on a moment William." His dad laughed and crouched slightly to look him in the eye. "I want you to be polite to Mrs. Parvis, and no romping around in the woods in your nice clothes. Text me when you want to go home, and don't bug anyone, alright?" Strife nodded and he ruffled his hair. "Alright, go have fun now."

Parv grabbed his hand again and this time Strife let her tug him away, giving his dad a small wave. She led him up the stairs and to the room at the end of the short hall, grinning.

"Welcome to... Château Alicia!" She flung the door open and he walked in, looking around.

The room, though not a disaster, was messy compared to most that Strife had seen. A hamper by the door was overflowing with old clothes, and random socks were scattered around the room, with a single training bra forgotten by the bed. Strife felt himself blush and Parv kicked it away from sight, laughing awkwardly.

He chose to look away, and instead focused on the various things lining the wall. Her school bag was leaning against her nightstand, and two posters were hanged above them. One was Nickelback, earning a scoff, and another was a cartoon bird sitting in a tree. It was chirping, "Music is great!" and Strife looked at Parv disbelievingly.

"What? Sparkles got it for me!" She defended herself, crossing her arms. "Anyways, want to play a game or anything? I have board games." She jerked her thumb at her bookshelf, and they walked over, looking through the shelves.

"Do you have Monopoly?" Strife asked, mostly focusing on the shelf with assorted junk on it. He spun a top then dusted off a picture frame, showing Parv arm in arm with a blond boy at a farm. They were wearing flower crowns made of dandelions, and grinning wide enough to show off missing teeth.

"Nah, Kogie tried to make me eat a house one time and my mom banned us from playing it." Parv responded cheerfully, nudging him over to pull out a board game. "That's my friend Martyn! His Boy Scout troop was working with my Girl Scout troop to help raise funds for the farm in town, and we met, and now we cause havoc at school. Hey, wanna play uh... The Game of Life? Ew, boring."

"What? Life's tons of fun, we're playing it." Strife looked at her in disbelief, then looked back at the picture. "Do you guys hang out a lot?"

"Yeah, their troop leader is like, best friends with my mom, so we do a lot of Scout stuff together. My troop mates get annoyed, but I like doing to boys' activities." Parv walked away with the game and Strife followed, sitting next to her as she opened the box.

"I'm in Boy Scouts, but I don't really talk to anyone in my troop." Strife snatched the red car and Parv whined, causing the discussion of scouts to fall behind.

"Hey, no fair, I'm always red car!"

"Well, I grabbed it first, so play with the blue one."

"I was distracted! Blue car sucks!" She grabbed his wrist, ready to take it, when a voice suddenly came from the door.

"Hey, are you two playing Life?" They looked over and saw Sparkles, Leo and Kogie standing behind him.

"Yeah, now leave. It's Château Alicia, not Château Older Brother." Parv stuck her tongue out and Sparkles returned the gesture, brushing his red bangs aside as he taunted her.

"Can we play too, Allie?" The youngest boy asked, leaning around Sparkles. He had lighter hair, mostly hidden by a beanie, and his attempt at puppy eyes seemed to win her over, as she sighed and nodded. The last teen cheered and pushed the other two in, and Strife edged over to let him sit down, silently taking in his spiky dark hair and thicker eyebrows.

"You guys are bullies," Parv grumbled, letting Strife take the red car and grabbing the blue one before anyone else did. Sparkles passed out the remaining cars, causing his friends to whine, and Strife decided the trio weren't really teenagers. At least, they weren't scary like most teenagers- just goofy, and a bit too tall and gangly for Strife's taste.

"Alright, Strife's a guest, he goes first." Sparkles decided, and Leo and Parv nodded.

"I'm a guest too!" Kogie complained, and Sparkles laughed, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Not really."

Strife lowered his gaze and shifted a little uncomfortably, remembering something his dad had said recently. Parv took notice and cleared her throat, causing Sparkles to stop, and they started playing.

\---

"How are you having this many kids? This isn't any fair, give me some!" Kogie complained, jabbing at Sparkles accusingly.

"It's just more college tuition, what do you care?" He scoffed and took another daughter. "I don't have more room anyways, I'll just pawn the next niece or nephew off to Alicia."

"I don't want it!"  
"We're dating!"

"Just leave them at home." Strife tapped his house card, rolling his eyes, and Leo laughed.

"Well, someone around here has a brain at least." Strife puffed up at Sparkles's praise and Parv whacked his arm.

"Ow!" He winced, then shoved her to the floor, forgetting for a moment that they weren't alone in the tree house. The black haired girl growled and pulled him down after her, almost flipping him over her shoulder. He whacked his head on the bed frame and teared up, blinking away the water and Parv's expression softened. He took advantage of her sudden change of heart to punch her in the arm and she cried out.

"You two stop fighting or you're both eating a car," Kogie snapped, growing bored of the fight. The two sat back down, shooting daggers at each other until Strife broke and giggled, causing Parv to laugh loudly and roll backwards.

"Will you two seriously shut up and play?!"

\---

Parv tugged at her skirt, pouting at her dad. "Why do I have to dress up so much? I'm just playing with Will."

"Well, he got dressed up for you, so you have to return the favor. Don't worry princess, I won't make you dress up next time you visit his house." Her dad ruffled her hair. She had recently gotten it trimmed down to a pixie cut, and he loved the chance to ruffle someones hair again after Sparkles got too tall. "Now, don't annoy anyone while you're here, okay?"

"No promises with Will." She grumbled, then hit the doorbell. A chime of bells echoed inside, and the door was opened by an older man dressed in a suit.

"Hello, Mr...?" The butler asked, and she flushed.

"Miss, uh, Alicia." She cleared her throat, and held out a hand to shake. "I'm here to play with Will."

"Yes, of course. Miss Parvis." The butler smiled slightly, obviously recognizing her name. "Please wait while I retrieve him."

He walked to the stairs, and Parv's dad whistle lowly, looking around the foray.

"Jeez, Allie. I know your friend is rich, but this place is classy."

The front room was large, with a high ceiling and a stair case in the back going up several flights, from the look if it. There was a landing about halfway up, a dining room to the left of the foray, and a lounge to the right. When Parv craned her head, she thought she could see a library behind the lounge as well.

"Alicia!" She looked up and saw Strife waving from the stairs. He walked down them near regally, Kirin tailing after him looking like a typical teenager. She silently thought he looked more like a William than he ever did in the woods.

When he reached them, she gave him a hug, hoping to crack the professional shell a little. He sighed and hugged her back stiffly, looking over to the dining room. She followed his gaze and saw a woman standing there, her blond hair pulled back in a tight bun. She nodded slightly, and Will continued as if reading off of a script.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Parvis." He gently pushed Alicia away and she sighed. He held out a hand to shake, and her dad took it, looking a little overwhelmed. "Gabriel can take your coats, if you so please."

The butler nodded, and Alicia handed it over, smiling gratefully.

"Nice to meet you too, Will... iam. I'll be leaving soon, so I'll keep my coat." The blond boy tried to looked more welcoming, picking up on his discomfort, and Alicia laughed, causing him to look at her with a sharp glare.

Strife's mom came over, picking up the conversation, and Strife grabbed her hand to tug her away.

When they made it to his room, she stared, trying to take the large room in. It was much neater than hers, with a few pictures of friends and family hung up on the wall by his bed. His closet held all of his visible clothes- mostly red shirts, as Parvis had predicted- and any toys he had were sitting in an open box by the windows.

"Ugh, my mom makes me act so formal in front of adults. No one cares if I slouch, you know? I mean, I'm the last person to go against my parents, but geez." Strife sighed and wandered to his bed, falling onto it. Parv cracked a grin.

That was her Strife.

"I think parents like showing off to other parents with their kids," she pointed out, sitting next to him on the bed. She held her knees together tightly, and Strife snorted, rolling over to look up at her.

"I hope we never get like that."

"Me neither."


	4. Fifth Grade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the last chapter I had already written! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter done by next week, but knowing me, it might take a little longer, sorry!

Strife flipped through the book he had brought up to the tree house with him, dusting off a leaf that landed on his page. Parv had mentioned something the other day about being late, so he was prepared to wait. After all, her definition of late was anywhere from a few minutes to an hour.

The trap door swung open and he looked up, watch Parv crawl into the room.

"Hey Strife," she said sullenly, and he frowned.

"Are you alright?" he asked, putting his book down.

She sighed, shaking her head, then started rambling, "Sparks and Kogie broke up the other day, so Sparks keeps crying. My parents keep arguing over nothing, and neither Sparkles or I can get them to stop. And I was reading online the other day and I-" She cut herself off and looked down. "Uh..."

"You what?"

She stayed quiet, then crawled over to cuddle up against Strife. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders awkwardly, and she laughed, the noise harsh in the air.

"Well, I uh, was reading about... homosexuality." Strife nodded when she paused again, and she continued, "and there was this website, and it was talking about uh, this thing called trans? Transgender. And it's like... when a girl wants to be a boy, or a boy wants to be a girl. And there was something about, like, nonbinary...? I didn't read that part much, I was mostly looking at the first part."

Strife blinked, processing her words. He felt her tense up next to him and he rubbed her arm reassuringly.

"That's uh, that's awesome Parv. Why are you telling me this?"

"I want to be a boy."

"O-oh." He froze and she sighed, scooting away. Strife grabbed her arm- his arm? Parv's arm. "No, don't move, I didn't... What do you mean? What does that mean?"

"Like... I've talked about this before to you, Strife! I don't like being a girl! I hate skirts, and, and, I've always talked about what it'd be like if I was a boy, and... And you're going to help me! So there!" Parv crossed her- his arms, and Strife nodded quickly.

"I know, I know, you've talked about that before. What, uh, am I helping with?"

"My name!"

"Your name?"

"Well, I can't go by Alicia! It's a girl's name, and if I'm going to be a boy, I need a boy's name." Parv pulled a paper out of his pocket, slapping it onto the ground. "I wrote down a bunch after Sparkles kicked me off of the computer."

Strife grabbed the paper and unfolded it, reading through the names aloud. "Caspar, Nick, Alex, Will- Will?" He gave her- him a look and Parv stuck out his tongue. "Good name, good name. Will, Brian, Oliver." He put the paper down carefully.

"Which ones do you like best?"

"Well, Will, obviously." Parv snorted, and Strife answered seriously, "Caspar sounds nice. I also like Alex, but that's kind of close to Alicia, don't you think?"

"Well, yeah, but... I dunno, I like being called Allie, but if my name isn't Alicia anymore, no one will have a reason to."

"I guess that's fair. But yeah, I like those names. And Oliver sounds nice, too. So there, I've narrowed it down for you."

Parv looked at the names, thinking, and Strife started at her. Him. Stared at him.

"I think... I'll use Alex. It's a nice name."

"Alright... Alex."

Parv beamed and Strife couldn't stop himself from smiling back. As long as his friend was happy.

\---

Strife clipped up photos to the walls, taking the chance to do so without being distracted by Parvis. She- he had said that he wouldn't be able to make it out the next few days, something going on at home, so Strife was using the time to reflect on their times.

He stapled a laminated newspaper article down, smiling fondly at the photograph it showed off. It was simple enough, a black and white photo from a time when their town was having a food drive. Strife's Boy Scout troop and Parv's Girl Scout troop had both been on duty by chance, and they were able to get into the newspaper. He ran his finger along the cheesy but enjoyable caption- Fifth graders Will Strife and Allie Parvis help the cause by attending to the soup table despite coming from different troops! He laughed, shaking his head as the memories of that day came back to him.

"Alright boys, this way! Xeph, Will, you two handle the soup table. Max-" 

"Ross." 

"Ross, sorry, you attend the boxed goods. Meet up in the parking lot corner when the day is over, okay?" Xephos's dad ran his hand through his hair, looking incredibly like his mother hen of a son, then waved his hand to shoo them off. Xephos grabbed Will's wrist and he let him pull him along, used to the other bossing him around at that point.

"Strifey!" Suddenly, Will was wrenched out of Xephos's grip and he squeaked, whacking whoever had grabbed him. "Owww, the hell man?"

"O-oh, Parvis! Allie. Allie!" Will stumbled over his words and Parv snickered, shaking her- his head. "I, uh, hi, what are you doing here?"

"Believe it or not, neighbor, I'm here doing the food drive. I know, unexpected," he teased and Will blushed.

This felt wrong. Where was the woods? The tree house? The feeling of sunlight and fresh air?

"Who's this girl, William?" Xephos cut in, giving Allie a suspicious look.

"This is, uh, my neighbor, Alicia." Will gestured and Allie waved. He fumbled with his words, not sure if his friend wanted him to use the proper pronouns or not. "Sh-she's my best friend, remember?"

"Yep! I'm Alicia!" He offered a hand to shake, winking. "But you can call me Allie if you want."

Xephos blushed, silent for once in his life, and Will laughed. Allie had mentioned that she- he liked to fluster boys sometimes, but it was fascinating to watch in person. For a second he wondered if anyone had ever tried that on him, but he couldn't remember anything affecting him like that.

"O-oh." Xephos seemed to have finally found his words. "Uh, hello, I'm Xephos. Will and I were just heading to the soup station."

Allie gasped. "That's awesome! Me and Martyn are set up over there!"

"Martyn and I," Strife corrected automatically, earning himself a pinch in the side. "Ow!"

"Aaanyways... Martyn and I can show you two the ropes." Allie giggled and skipped over to the table. Xephos stopped Will before he could follow, and he looked at his friend in confusion.

"You never told me your friend was that cute," he murmured, blush still lingering.

"What? Dude."

"Just saying." Xephos gave Will a grin and followed Allie, leaving Will to blink after them for a moment before following as well.

When they reached the table, another blond boy already standing there, chewing Allie out as she- he rolled his eyes at him. Will suddenly realized that this was 'the other blond friend,' as Parv had lovingly dubbed him.

"I can't believe you just left me to deal with this all on my own!"

"I was gone for five minutes Martyn, don't get your boxers in a twist." He put his hands on his hips, gesturing to Xephos and Will with his head. "I brought friends."

"Oh- Oh! Hello, hello!" Martyn shoved Allie out of the way and she- he whined. "You two must go to the private school, right? Or, well, an elementary school that I don't go to. But you guys have those swanky clothes..." He chuckled nervously, realizing he was rambling a bit, and Will smiled. It was easy to see why Parv had befriended him.

"This is Will and uh, Xephos? Xephos! Isn't that a lovely name?" Allie sighed dreamily in a way that Will could pick up as an act, and Xephos's cheeks pinked again. Martyn snorted, obviously used to the game as well. "But yeah, private school kids."

"Right, right. I've heard stories about you two. Well, mostly Will, but Scout stories get passed around." Martyn smiled and Xephos laughed from where he was already sorting through cans on the table.

The four worked for a while, chattering mindlessly, until a short ginger boy seemed to appear out of nowhere and tackle Xephos.

"Oof- oh gosh, hi Honeydew! I wasn't expecting to see you here today!"

"You either mate! Hello unfamiliar blond kid, you must be Will! Xeph talks about you a lot!" Honeydew turned on his heel to shake Will's hand. He had a strong grip, and Will had to rub his hand to bring circulation back afterwards. The boy started helping at the table, almost immediately dropping a can of soup. "I got it, don't worry!"

"Calm down, you blithering idiot," Xephos snapped, though he had a fond glint in his eyes. Will snorted at the whirlwind which was Honeydew, getting into the work pattern as well. Xephos started ordering Honeydew like he was a young child, earning a giggle from Martyn and Will, but Allie fell silent, frowning at the table. Will noticed Martyn looking concerned as well, and cleared his throat.

"So, Allie, what's your troop doing at your next meeting? Another arts and crafts day!"

Allie perked up, laughing. "I swear to God, I'm quitting soon, I cannot make another paper mache animal. I'll snap if I do!"

\---

Strife was in the tree house again, finishing with hanging up his pictures. He stapled in a small clipping of Lana Del Rey, remembering that Parv mentioned liking her at some point. He already knew that his friend wasn't supposed to come that day, still at home for something, so when he finished, he curled up in a beanbag with a new book.

He had been reading a lot recently, since Dave had been staying with them again, and he wanted the excuse to not have to talk to his cousin. He tensed as the book got dramatic, sitting up and leaning forward.

She was facing off with the green tiger, about to make her move, and it was unclear if she'd live or not, and then-

"Fuck off Mom! This is all your fault!" Strife startled at the sudden shout, nearly loosing his place. Was that Parv?

"Alicia, honey, don't swear so loudly. I'm sorry-"

"Just go away!" Parv's voice was cracking, letting on that he was crying. Strife noted that it had been getting higher and higher recently, then shook his head, listening to him clamber up the ladder. "If you were really sorry, you'd keep Sparkles!"

Parv finally opened the hatch into the tree house, pausing when he saw Strife. His face was all red, from shouting, tears, and now, blushing in embarrassment. He climbed in slower, closing the hatch behind him and sitting against the wall with his eyes to the ground.

Strife stood up and walked to the window, leaning out of it. "I'll watch Allie Ms. Parvis, don't worry." She startled slightly when she saw him, but nodded slowly.

"I'll be back in an hour Alicia! I expect you to be a bit calmer by then, alright?" She sighed and turned, walking back to the Parvises's house.

"Watch her, calm her down, treat her like a little baby who can't handle herself," Parv mimicked his mother badly, not seeming to notice the tears starting to form again. "Keep things that will ruin her life from her until it's practically the day of and expect her to take it calmly!"

Strife frowned, deciding not to comment on the use of pronouns, and sat down next to Parv. "What's wrong Parvy?"

"M-my parents are getting divorced, and thought they shouldn't tell me until they had it all planned out or something." He touched his wet cheek then rubbed away the tears. "Mom's getting the house, and I'm staying with her, but Dad has to move, and he's taking Sparkles as well, and no one will tell me why I can't just stay with my older brother, a-and I don't want him to leave Strife, I don't!"

Strife hugged him tightly, not sure how to respond for a moment. "Well... I'm sure you'll still be able to talk to him and your dad, right? Where are they moving?"

"To the next town over, where houses are cheaper. Sparkles says it's good because he'll be in high school with Kogie and Leo, but they'll be apart for a year. What if they hate each other by then? They probably will."

"Hey, that's not how it works. 'Distance makes the heart grow fonder.'" Strife quoted his mother, remembering the talk she had with Dave when he was upset over how many his parents dumped him with the Strifes.

The teenager had stormed off to try his hand at demolishing trees in the woods after hearing that, but Parv seemed to take it better, cuddling into Strife and sighing.

"I guess Strifey." He closed his eyes, letting his head drop to Strife's shoulder. "Can you just... read to me? Please? I don't want to talk to my mom yet."

"Alright. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin."

\---

"Hey, Allie, you up there?" The two looked up from the book, Strife trailing off mid sentence. Parv jumped up, going to the window.

"Just climb up Sparks, this tree house can support a high schooler!" Parv flopped back down next to Strife, tucking himself under his arm again and avoiding Sparkles's eyes when he appeared through the hatch.

"Uh, Mom said it was time to come get you," Sparkles explained awkwardly, though he sat down in the other beanbag. Evidently, he didn't want to face their parents either.

"Why does Dad get you? I want you to stay with me and Mom," Parv quickly asked, his voice already sounding choked up again. Strife tightened his grip on his friend, looking out the window to give them some amount of privacy.

"Alicia, do you know why I live with you guys?"

"Because you're my brother, I'm not a complete idiot." Parv huffed.

"Do you know why I don't really look like anyone in the family?" Parv didn't reply, and after a long moment of silence, Sparkles continued. "I'm your first cousin, you know, not your blood brother. Dad was my blood mom's brother, and he was my godfather. My parents died before you were even born, so I was sent to Dad and Mom to live with."

"Y-you're still my brother, Sparks." Parv glared at his brother and Sparkles flinched back, looking away.

"I'm just saying, Dad has custody of me by law, not Mom, so that's why I'm going with him. I want to go with Dad anyways. Things haven't been going great for me in this town. ... We're still siblings."

Sparkles tried to give him a reassuring smile and Parv choked up again, covering his face. Strife rubbed his back soothingly, doing his best to not give Sparkles a glare. Wasn't his fault, in the end.

\---

A week later, Strife braved the tree house again, and found it blissfully empty.

"Alright," he murmured to himself, looking over the photos on the wall. He had laminated them recently, after a particularly bad storm ruined all of the art and pictures pinned up. Most of them were of Parv and Strife, but he had a few of the original ones he gathered with his father.

He tapped the corner of the photo of him, Sips, and Xephos. It had been ruined, but it was one of his favorites, so he had reprinted it among the rest that he decided important enough to use ink on. He looked along to the others he had reprinted, of him and Parv.

Most of them were from the times they hanged out, badly lighted and blurry from hands shaking with laughter. There was a few taken in the forest, with his father's permission and Dave's careful guidance. They came from an expensive camera, after all.

His gaze landed on one taken by Leo in Parv's room. It was as badly set up as any of the others, but Strife loved it, because it had him and Parv laughing while Kogie yelled at them from the background and Sparkles rolled his eyes. It was genuine according to Dave, whatever that meant. Strife didn't have the mind for photography terms, he generally trusted his cousin to not lead him astray.

The last picture he let himself reminisce over was one Parv had put up, of him and Martyn at the food drive. They were arm in arm, smiling innocently, though from what Strife had heard the two were a regular pair of troublemakers. Parv's dad had taken it, and it was well lit and genuine, even though it was taken on a smart phone and printed from the internet.

'The other blond friend' looked great next to Parv. The two were probably close friends, partners in crime at school. Parv had said in the past that Martyn's best friend was a boy named Toby, but Strife couldn't help but feel sick to his stomach looking at this picture.

He gritted his teeth and looked out the window. What gave him the right to be jealous? Parv was allowed to have as many friends as he wanted. He watched the leaves rustling outside, laughing humorlessly when two were pulled away from a small bunch of three leaves.


	5. Sixth Grade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh, this has taken so long. I'm so sorry guys!! I've been so busy with life, and this fell to the wayside. But it's finally done!! Now I just have to write the next chapter. Hopefully it won't take a whole year.

Strife fidgeted nervously, playing with the straps of his backpack. Parv stood next to him whistling peacefully, waiting for the bus to come. Parv was used to first days at public schools, after all, even if it was a new school.

"Middle school, huh Strifey? Isn't it exciting?" Parv gave him a wide grin, then paused when he noticed Strife's expression. "Hey, dude, you know it'll be fine, right?"

"Xephos said that public school kids beat each other up all the time, and Sips didn't say he was wrong," Strife blurted over, then blushed when Parv laughed at him.

"Okay, no. First of all, Sips loves terrifying people, and second of all, you will get in trouble for doing as much as pinching someone... if you get caught. I mean, if they don't tell on you, and don't do it where a teacher can see, you could probably get stabbed, but- Strife, don't look at me like that, I'm joking. You'll be fine."

"You just said I could be stabbed!" Strife looked at Parv wide eyed. "I never should have asked my dad to transfer me to public school, I'm going to be killed-"

"You'll be fine, I'll protect you!" Parv flexed his arms with a grin. "I have a reputation for getting in fights, really, you'll be fine if you make sure people know you're with me!"

"You have a reputation for losing fights!"

"Shut up!" He hit Strife's head lightly, pushing his gaze away from him. "Look, the bus is coming now. Come on, I want to get us some good seats!"

Parv grabbed his wrist and tugged him on, giggling and looking around. He pulled him past the other sixth graders, ignoring the grumble of the bus driver and Strife's soft whimper, and sat down in front a seventh grader who promptly got up to confront them.

"Hello Alicia, how may I help you today?" The boy was fairly short, around Parv's height if not smaller, with side swept hair. His necklace dangled by Strife's face, showing off a small best friend charm of a top hat.

"Hey Trott! I was just sitting here with my buddy William," Parv replied and wrapped an arm around Strife's shoulders, "taking the bus to school. Nothing I can give you today, nor anything I need."

"Well, actually, you'll find that these seats are for big kids, not little girls like you?" The seventh grader grinned. "Though, you can do me a favor, and I'll let you sit here."

Parv's expression fell into a glare, and Strife blinked, adjusting himself nervously. "Shut the fuck up Chris. You know those dumb rumors aren't true."

"Not even a kiss~?" Parv stood up, trying to shove Strife out of the seat, and Trott sighed. "It was just a joke Allie, you can sit here."

He looked tempted to still leave, but he glanced up towards the bus driver and sat down, rolling his eyes. "Fuck you."

Trott sat down and looked out the window again, putting in ear buds, and Parv glowered at the seat in front of them. Strife was still processing what had happened, before leaning on Parv's shoulder slightly, trying to offer some comfort.

"Hey, uh, Ross's stop is coming up, yeah? He's in your boy scout troop," Parv said after a moment of silence, and Strife nodded. "So there's someone you know. And uh, there's Strippin and Benji, Strippin's a year ahead of us and Benji is our age. Benji has a vitamin deficiency, and he doesn't really mind you talking about it, but Strippin will beat you up for it. So watch yourself."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And Benji'll hit you if you say anything about Strippin."

"Okay." Strife fumbled with the seatbelt for a moment, trying to get the rusted mechanism to lock, and Parv tapped his hands, dropping the belt ends to the sides.

"Seatbelts suck and don't work. The seat will catch you if we crash."

"I hate public school already," Strife said in a low voice, and Parv giggled, ruffling his hair.

"Well, it's too late to take it back~ Now, sit up, Toby will be getting on soon and I want to say hi!"

"Toby? Isn't that Martyn's friend?" Strife looked at the front of the bus, wondering when he'd get on.

"Yeah! He's a real asshole, but everyone likes to make fun of him, so I don't blame him." At Strife's horrified look, Parv amended, "everyone likes to make fun of him in a friendly way. Like when we beat each other up, except it's with words and would probably scar people like you for life."

"People like me?"

"Rich private school kids who have been taught to be passive aggressive and nothing else since birth."

Strife had to laugh at that, rolling his eyes. "That's not quite how it works, but if you say so Parv."

Parv bounced, waving his hand, and Strife looked at the front of the bus to watch a short brunette pick his way through the bus to sit in front of them. He took this to be Toby. Behind him, a tall seventh grader got on with who Strife could only assume was Benji, judging by the shock of white hair. The seventh grader waited until Benji sat down, then sat down behind Trott, giving the group of sixth graders a weird look for being so far back.

Strife pulled his gaze away from the intimidating boy to look at Toby, who Parv was chatting up. Parv tossed his hair behind his shoulder, lowering his voice to say something quietly, and Toby snorted, shoving him back into his seat.

"This is why people call you a slut Alicia. Stop hitting on me."

"Wow, rude! I'm just being friendly!"

"People call you a slut?" The two looked over at Strife, who felt a little bewildered. What had Parv done to get that kind of label?

"Oh, yeah. Tobes, this is my bestie and neighbor, William Strife! You can call him Will, and I call him Strife." Parv wrapped an arm around Strife's shoulders, ignoring his question, and Toby grinned.

"Hey, I'm Toby."

"Pleasure to meet you." Strife held out a hand to shake and Toby raised an eyebrow, snickering slightly as he shook. Strife blushed, unsure why he was laughing, and Parv rolled his eyes. "Again, people call you a slut?"

"It's nothing Will, just drop it." Parv's voice had gone dangerous monotone, and he nodded quickly, relaxing slightly when Parv scooted away. The two launched into some conversation and Strife sighed, sitting back and watching the front of the bus as more people boarded.

\---

"I hate my Social Studies teacher," Parv grumbled, pushing his lunch tray aside and slumping over the table.

"I don't see why you do so poorly in her class. And it's hardly been two months!" Martyn shook his head slightly, laughing as he pushed his food around his tray.

"What has Parv done now?" Toby asked, raising an eyebrow at the sudden topic change.

"I didn't do anything, we just have a dick of a teacher!" Parv tapped the table hard for emphasis and Martyn giggled.

"She's an alright teacher, Parv just always interrupts the class to ask stupid questions."

"Hey, she said that we should ask if we ever had a question about anything, so I ask my questions!"

Strife lowered his darkening gaze to his food, his stomach churning slightly at the conversation. Parv was his nickname, what right did Martyn and Toby have to use it? It wasn't like they were the ones who heard the actual story his friend was launching into. The one where Parv cried in the end because they weren't stupid questions to him. The one where he wasn't laughing as if being humiliated in front of class was just a joke to him.

He took an angry bite out of his sandwich, and Parv looked over in concern. Strife gave him a reassuring smile, and Parv continued his story, adding in a cutesy giggle and some comment about the dumb girl stereotype.

It wasn't like they knew Parv was a guy.

Strife dropped his sandwich, suddenly not hungry, and this time just got up for water when Parv frowned at him. He waved away the beginning of his sentence and walked away.

He poured himself a glass of water from the light blue cooler, watching the water trickle out slowly. He looked up when Sips came up behind him, nudging him with a grin.

He smiled a bit in return, stepping back to let the other boy get a drink of water. A teacher stepped forward, probably about to get Strife to stop loitering, and he took that as his cue to turn and walk back to the lunch table.

Strife sat down, a bit calmer after his small walk, and Parv smiled. Martyn was telling them another story of some argument Parv had with their science teacher, and Strife managed a laugh. Toby glanced at him, not noticing his return, and pointed at his juice carton.

"You gonna drink that?"

"You can take it. If you still drink like an elementary student."

Toby took the catron anyways, stabbing it with the attached straw, and Strife snorted, tilting back his head to finish his small cup of water.

\---

"Maybe I should drop down to a lower math class. I feel like an idiot just looking at this."

"You're already in the basic level math class, what would you drop down to?" Strife rolled his eyes, tugging the homework Parv was working on closer and looking over what he was working on. "You just have to add something here, then you can divide."

"What?" Parv leaned against him, trying to follow Strife's instructions. "So it's... what... 26?"

"27."

"Yeah, that," Parv responded after a moment of silence, and Strife sighed, writing it down for him. Strife's handwriting was messier than Parv's, but he doubted his teacher would notice.

"Think you can do the next problem?" No response. He glanced over and saw Parv staring out the window. "Parv."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure."

"Do the problem then." Parv nodded and pulled the paper back to him, starting on the problem, and Strife sighed, watching the leaves flutter over his best friend's shoulder.

\---

"Alicia, come downstairs, Will is here!" Strife scuffed his shoes clean on the welcoming mat, giving Parv's mom a small smile. Since they mostly hanged out in the treehouse, it had been a long time since he had seen the inside of the Parvises' house. It was cleaner than it used to be, but it was strange to not see Sparkles* lounging around or Parv's dad working on something in the living room. "Alicia, are you coming?"

"I'm right here mom!" Parv bounced down the stairs, slipping on the bottom two steps. Both Strife and Parv's mom gasped, walking forward, but Parv bounced to his feet, blinking away the tears. "Hiya Strifey!"

"Happy twelth birthday Parv," Strife replied, giving him a hug. The gift bag he was holding bounced against Parv's back and he winced. "Sorry."

"Come on up to my room! I know we're not having a sleepover like I asked, and Xephos and Ridge and Sparkles* and Kogie couldn't make it," Parv took a breath, "but it'll be fun!"

"I didn't really mind all that, I was more concerned with how you would be with all that," Strife responded softly, and Parv shrugged, looking away. He grabbed Strife's wrist and dragged him upstairs, Strife following.

Strife looked around the room once they walked in, smiling slightly when he saw a sign on the door reading "Chateau Parvy." Inside, the room had the same layout as before, though significantly messier than he remembered. A Green Day poster replaced the old Nickelback poster, and Strife held back a comment on Parv's lackluster music taste. The old singing bird was still up, and Parv sighed softly.

"Sparky gave it to me."

"I remember."

They stood in silence for a moment and Strife coughed, putting his gift down on the ground near the bookshelf.

"Uh, so, I was talking to Trott and Ross the other day."

"Why would you do that? They're awful."

"Yeah, but in a fun way. Anyways-"

\---

"Leo's here!" Strife and Parv looked up at the call, their ten minute conversation cut short, and Parv hopped up with a whoop, dashing down the stairs and nearly falling again. Strife followed slower, giving Leo a small smile once he came into view. It had been nice to just talk to Parv for awhile, but Parv was obvious itching to see his other friends.

"Hey you two. I think I saw Martyn pull up behind me." They all glanced over at the driveway, where Toby and Martyn were exiting Martyn's car. "It's so sad that I'm hanging out with a bunch of sixth graders, honestly."

"Don't be rude," Strife scoffed, fighting a grin, and Parv giggled.

"Come ooon, all of you hurry up and get inside! I want to open up gifts and get shit!"

"Alicia," his mother warned in a slightly scandalized tone.

"Sooorry."

\---

"Awww, you got me a t-shirt!" Parv stretched out the shirt Strife got him. "It has a guitar on it!"

"Yeah, I got it in the boys section," Strife said, trying to be casual. Parv blinked, looking at him for a moment, then lunged over to him tightly.

"Thanks. I love it," he murmured, and Strife smiled, returning the hug.

"Wow, if I knew Parv liked guitars that much, I would have gotten her the guitar pick set I saw," Martyn joked, and Parv pulled back, blushing and laughing.

"You should have! That sounds great!" He stood up, stretching, then flopped onto Leo, who was laying down on Parv's bed. Leo gasped and shoved him off, sitting up and rubbing his stomach. "We should play a game! Like truth or dare!"

"First dare, don't land on my stomach like that!" Leo snapped, and Parv giggled from his position on the floor where he was shoved to. Strife shrunk at the mention of Truth or Dare, remembering the direction Parv tended to take it, but everyone else shrugged and agreed.

"First daaare... Toby." Parv pointed and Toby thought for a moment.

"Martyn, truth or dare."

"Truth," he answered easily.

"Who's your man crush?"

"What the fuck is a man crush," Leo said in a deadpan, and Strife laughed.

"It's some thing our grade is doing," Martyn replied, then tapped his chin. "Sips."

"Too easy an answer, everyone would say Sips. Who's your real man crush?"

"Oh gosh, uh," he bit his lip. "Uh, Strippin's buff, so him I guess?"

"The fastest way to Martyn's heart, muscles," Toby lamented, trying to flex and failing. Parv laughed and shoved Toby and he went down with a yelp.

"Sixth graders are weird," Leo said, watching them all.

"True," Strife responded, and Martyn looked at him, smirking.

"Truth or dare?" Strife winced at Martyn's question, looking away and rubbing the back of his head.

"...truth?" The last time he said dare around Parv, Toby, and Martyn, he had to drink something that tasted like a mix of coffee creamer and tomato juice, so he figured it'd be safer to go with this.

"Crush."

Strife was silent for a long moment. "Man crush? Because-"

"Crush crush. You're not getting out of this today. You never talk about your crushes!" Martyn leaned forward and Strife leaned away.

"I don't have a crush," he replied in a mumble, and Martyn squinted.

"You never have a crush. We're your friends, you can tell us."

"Strife never has crushes, no need to harass him over it," Parv said, frowning and cutting into the conversation.

"When I was your age," Leo started, and Parv groaned.

"You're a year older than us."

He continued, "I had a crush on this girl. And she was so hot. Like, so hot. Anyways, she always flirted with me, but then she decided to date Sparkles* instead. You know. No big deal. Sure. So then I started crushing on Kogie. And then Kogie started dating Sparkles*, like I can be cool too! Give me a chance!" Leo gave Strife a grin as everyone turned to the older boy instead and Strife nodded thankfully.

"Shut up about how hot everyone is for five seconds Leo, please," Parv whined, and Leo snickered, rolling onto his stomach.

"You only care because I think your brother is hot."

"Sparkles* is disgusting and you're weird," Parv decided in a matter of fact tone. "Now, Strife, your turn!"

"Apologize to Leo first."

"Don't wanna."

"Parv!"

Parv let out a long sigh and pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry Leo."

"You're forgiven," Leo replied, sitting up to give him a hug.

"Awww, bless," Martyn cooed teasingly and Toby snickered.

"Leo, truth or dare?" Strife interrupted, hoping Leo would choose dare and he wouldn't have to think of anything for him to do.

"Dare."

Strife's brain stalled and he stared for a long moment. "Uh..."

"Has Leo ever had to have one of Toby and Parv's hell drinks?" Martyn asked, saving him, and he smiled, shaking his head no.

"Hell drink, hell drink," Parv chanted, jumping to his feet and already running off. Leo raised an eyebrow and Strife shrugged.

"Toby and Martyn like making these awful drinks with weird liquids, you'll get it once we bring one up for you."

"Go for it." Leo laid back down and the other boys followed Parv down to the kitchen.

Once there, while the others messed around with suspicious ingredients, Strife leaned against the counter and stared out the window, watching the leaves outside get pushed around by the wind. Maybe he should make up a crush next time, so the others wouldn't press him for an answer.

"You okay Strifey?" Parv touched his back lightly, and he startled, looking back from the window.

"Oh, y-yeah. I'm fine."


End file.
